Are Androids Heartless? A Tres Love One Shot
by AnbuAnimagus
Summary: A young woman goes to Italy for vacation, but her life changes forever when she meets two Catholic Priests who are more than how they appear.


**Thursday**:

A nineteen-year-old woman was panting, sweating, and feeling exhilarated. She was crouching in a defensive stance, her long, dark brown hair pulled back in to a pony-tail, her grey eyes darting from one vampire to another as more came every minute.

Marissa, the girl, grabbed a sword from the wall of weapons, every one of which she had mastered. There were spears, whips, morning stars, swords, daggers, axes, quarter staffs, and every other weapon imaginable.

Three vampires rushed her all at once. Marissa kicked one in the stomach, beheaded the second, and dodged the third. The vamp didn't have enough time to recover from the attempted kick, and Cathy was able to elbow him in the crotch.

"Rissa!" her butler's voice interrupted the simulation. "Take off the helmet, it's time for lunch."

She sighed and did as she was told, cradling it under her arm. "I didn't hit you, did I?"

"No, you just missed me," he replied, his face and body language was that of utter seriousness.

Rissa smiled. "That's good. Next time, just yell for me through the door. You guys know by now how I am in the training room."

"Yes, I do know, and I tried, but you didn't answer," he told her.

"Sorry, Johnathon. I guess I just got too in to the simulation. It's always fun fighting vampires, even when they're just a part of the helmet," Marissa said, as she placed the sword back into its proper place on the wall of weapons.

"How is the virtual reality helmet?" Johnathon asked.

"Awesome as usual!" Rissa said, grinning. "Thanks for coming when you did, otherwise I might have gotten my ass kicked by a bunch of simulated vamps."  
He smiled slightly. "Any time. Now, let's go, your father's waiting.

She nodded once, her smile now gone, and placed the helmet on a chair in the room, before following the butler downstairs. Rissa walked into the dining room on her own, finding her father already seated at the head of the table.

"How would you feel about a vacation?" her father asked, his elbows at his sides and his wrists and hands on the table.

"Really?" Rissa asked, surprised by the question. "Where to?"

"Italy, more precisely, Rome," he answered.

"Yeah, okay," Marissa replied, trying to hide the excitement that was welling up inside her.

Not a moment later, the butler came in with a covered tray of food.

**Friday:**

By the next day, the maids had her clothes all packed. At breakfast, Marissa said good bye to her father and butler. As a going-away gift, her father handed her a stack of cash held together by a rubber band. "Here's two thousand dollars. I want you to have fun on your vacation, but spend it wisely."

Then, Rissa climbed into a limo with her luggage, and the chauffeur drove her to the airport.

After that, Rissa was on her own for the first time.

The jet ride felt like forever. The pilot didn't talk very much and it was one of those personal flights, so Rissa was the only passenger. By the time the jet landed in Rome, it was around one in the afternoon.

Once their, Marissa decided to go somewhere to eat, since it was past her usual lunch time at home, though it looked like it was past dinner here. The sun was starting to set. She made a note to herself to change the time on her pocket watch.

The closest place to eat from the airport was the Les Etoiles. Marissa stepped inside to see it was your average restaurant with one wall lined in tall windows and the tables were covered in white tablecloths. There was a small vase with yellow flowers on each table. The place was busy, even though there was an air that it had just opened for the night.

Someone in a priest's cloak with silver hair sat at one of the tables, looking distressed and holding a small snap-shut coin purse upside down over the table.  
Without waiting to be seated, Marissa walked over to investigate.

"Is this seat taken?" she asked politely, sitting in a the chair opposite from the silver-haired man before he had a chance to answer.

"Well actually, um..." he tried to say, but then turned back to the very annoyed looking waitress that had been standing next to him. "I thought I had more money, I swear. Just wait for my friend, Father Tres to return, I'm sure he'll pay for the meal."

"Or I could," Marissa offered.

The waitress looked at me, surprised.

"What? Priests are supposed to help those in need. Shouldn't someone help priests in need?" she asked. "How much is the bill?"

Rissa paid the waitress and nearly jumped out of her skin when an iron hand fell heavily onto her shoulder.

"I believe you're in my seat," the man who was attached to the hand said in a monotone voice.

"Oh, um, sorry, Father," Marissa said, quickly moving. She was glad to feel his hand leave her shoulder. "I was just talking to-" her voice was cut off by a high-pitched scream. Marissa stood in shock for a moment, while the two priests went running out of the restaurant. "You're welcome!" she called after them, before following.

The priests led her out of the restaurant and down a dark alley. A girl was struggling against a dark-haired man, wearing dark clothes that were a sharp contrast against his pale features. Blood ran in rivulets down the corners of his mouth as he looked up with a sharp-toothed grin.

"You're gonna need this," Father Tres, a red-haired man with stoic brown eyes and mask-like face, handed Rissa a gun as he spoke. His voice was the same monotone as before.

"I don't use guns," she said, putting the gun in her belt.

"Then run," he said softly.

Marissa gave him a quizzical look, but he wasn't paying any attention to her. His eyes were fixed on the potential rapist.

"Queen Esther," the other priest said softly, looking at the red-haired girl that was now laying at the rapist's feet.

"We'll have to eradicate her," Tres said, in his same monotone voice.

The fanged man's grin grew wider. "What a meal this will be," he hissed.

The silver-haired priest clenched his fists and blindly ran in to attack, while muttering, "Krusnik Form forty percent!"

Marissa stood there, numb, as the silver-haired priest sucked the life from the rapist. All of his blood vessels had bulged, and vines appeared, growing rapidly along the red scythe that had appeared in the silver-haired one's hands. The rapist screamed in pain.

Rissa looked away. Her eyes falling on Tres. He just watched without emotion. For some reason, Rissa admired him for it. For not cringing or being weak like her and turning away. They were both Catholic Priests, yet something told her that they weren't quite human.

As if to confirm that thought, the would-be rapist screamed, "What are you doing?! NO! STOP! What are you?!"

"I am a Krusnik, a vampire that feeds off the blood of vampires." the silver-haired priest replied.

If what he said was true, would that mean that the guy with dried blood on his chin was a vampire and that the girl he had bitten, Esther, now one too? What would that make Tres? Was he a Krusnik, or something else?

After the vampire was completely drained of blood, the silver-haired one returned to normal. The scythe disappeared, and he knelt beside the young red-headed girl.

"We have to eradicate her, Abel," Tres repeated.

Abel seemed oblivious to all except Esther.

Shrieking and laughing, six more vampires leaped down at us from the rooftops above. Tres shot and killed all of them before they hit the ground.  
"You're an amazing shot!" Marissa said, staring at him in awe.

He didn't even seem to hear her.

Abel took that moment to stand. The girl was cradled against his chest. "Let's go, Father Tres. We've got to find a safe place."

"So... Vampires exist?" Marissa asked, her own voice making her jump.

"Affirmative," Tres answered.

"And you're a vampire who feeds on vampire blood?" she asked, pointing to Abel. He nodded once. She turned to Tres. "What does that make you?"

"I am an Android," he answered.

"Which is what exactly?" she asked, having only heard of a similar word from Star Wars.

"A robot with a human brain designed to kill vampires," Tres informed Marissa.

"Maybe we should let her come with us," Abel offered. "She knows too much for her own good, and I'm not about to..."

Tres guessed his meaning and an emotion flickered across his eyes. It was gone so fast, Rissa thought that she had just imagined it there. "Nor am I. It appears it is our only option." Tres said, still using the monotone voice. He looked at Marissa and commanded, "Come."

"What if... What if I don't want to go with you," she stuttered.

"You will come by any means necessary," Tres replied.

"Meaning by force," Abel added.

In the next moment, Tres lifted her bridal style, much the same as Abel was carrying Esther. The metal beneath his robes was oddly warm, most likely from the working circuits and whatever else powered him. With her ear against his chest, Marissa didn't hear a heart beat, or his breathing. However, she did soon fall asleep, lulled by the movement and the relief of feeling safe.

Rissa had fallen into a sleep so deep that she did not feel the bed that Tres gently laid her upon, but she did hear a screech.

Her eyes shot open and she sat bolt upright. Marissa was disoriented, finding herself in a dimly lit room on a bed that she had no memory of, and with two men that she had just met. When memory came back to her in a rush, Rissa looked at Esther. She had been the source of the loud screech that had awoken her.  
Without warning, Esther sprang towards Marissa, thirsty for her blood no doubt. Rissa screamed and, before Esther could reach her, Tres caught and threw the newly turned vampire back. Abel caught Esther before she fell to the ground. He restrained her, a look of deep sorrow in his eyes.

"Esther," he whispered, his voice pleading.

The girl blinked and looked up at him. Then, Esther embraced him. "Abel!" she said brokenly.

"You're safe. Go back to sleep," Tres said to Marissa.

She nodded, but it was awhile before she was finally calm enough to fall into a fitfull sleep.

**Saturday:**

"I'm going to take her to the Vatican," Abel said quietly.

"I will go too, and wait for further instruction," Tres said, as Marissa opened her eyes.

"Can I come too?" she asked, her voice hoarse with drowsiness. "I don't think the streets are safe for me."

"Affirmative," Tres replied.

"You know that's against the rules," Abel said to Tres in an undertone.

"Affirmative," he said again.

"I don't want to get you into trouble," Rissa said, reconsidering her options.

"Your life is more important," Tres said, and Abel smiled.

"Looks like you bring out his human side," the Krusnik observed.

Marissa smiled back. Tres really was a nice guy underneath the stoic mask.

Suddenly, there was a crash, follwed by another, and another. Vampires were appearing every where. They fell through the ceiling, crashed through the walls. There had to be twenty of them, and possibly more.

"Abel, take Esther and go. You," Tres started, turning to Rissa.

"Marissa," she corrected him.

"Run," he said, with finality, as he unholstered two hand guns.

"What? No! I'm staying with you," Rissa said stubbornly.

Tres didn't seem to have heard. Abel ran with Esther in his arms. THe vampires started after him, but Tres shot them down with expert ease. He continued firing off rounds until his guns clicked from lack of ammunition. Tres reholstered his guns, turned, lifted Marissa in his arms, and swiftly leapt out of one of the many holes made by the vampires. They followed in pursuit.

"I feel dizzy," Rissa said softly, her head spinning.

"You need sustenance. I will get you something when we reach the Vatican," Tres said, as he ran down the street. They had temporarily lost their pursuers,, and he slowed down to a more even, less bumpy, pace.

"Tres... Thank you," Marissa said, and stopped struggling against the fuzziness in her brain, allowing the blackness to over take her.

When Marissa awoke next, they were outside of a restaurant, and Tres was kneeling beside her, gently tapping her cheeks. "What is it?" she asked, when she had regained enough conciousness to speak.

"Time for you to eat," Tres replied as he helped Marissa stand on her rather unsteady feet. To her, it felt as though the world were moving and shifting beneath her feet.

It must have looked odd to bystanders, a Catholic Priest holding a woman. Marissa half-smiled at the thought. The smile quickly disappeared when she realized Tres wasn't likely to trade his faith for her. Rissa sighed heavily as Tres opened the door for her and showed her to a seat.

"Something wrong?" Tres asked in his monotone voice.

Rissa shook her head. " I don't understand it myself," was her honest answer.

When the waiter came, Marissa ordered and Tres refused, of course.

"Is there any way for you to get drunk?" Rissa asked, formulating a plan.

"Negative."

Well, so much for a plan of getting him drunk and seducing him. Could an android be seduced? Did the machine have the right... parts?

Then, Marissa remembered Abel and how he had looked at Esther, with so much love in his eyes. Maybe the priest thing was only a disguise. Maybe, if Tres was capable of loving, they could be together.

Marissa shook her head to clear it. Just was was wrong with her? Are androids heartless? Or can they love?

"First a sigh, and now you seem troubled. Why will you not tell me what is wrong?" Tres asked, just before the waiter showed up with Rissa's food.

After she ate, Tres and Rissa walked the rest of the way to the Vatican, which wasn't just a city, but a hideout for the false priests and the Pope.

When they got there, Tres gave Marissa the grand tour, and they ran into Abel along the way. They men led the way, talking in low tones, while Rissa followed behind, staying out of earshot.

Then, Tres showed her to a room, and Abel left them there, saying something about wanting to visit Esther.

The room was huge and everything in it was either white or beige. Marissa walked over and sat on the bed. She patted the spot next to her, inviting Tres to join her. Surprisingly, he obliged.

"You said you have a brain, right?" Rissa asked.

"Positive. I have a human brain and my other organs are made of machine," Tres replied.

"That's very interesting," Marissa said, and her face heated at the thought of another question she had earlier.

Tres's face softened and he smiled slightly, the first sign of any emotion he had shown since they had met. "You make me feel human," he said, in the same monotone voice.

Rissa leaned against him, smiling. "I'm glad I can make you happy."

Tres gently moved away. "I must go," he said softly, without looking at Rissa. Then, she watched him get up and leave the room.

**Sunday:**

Marissa sat in her room for what felt like an eternity. Then, she heard someone approach and hoped it was Tres, but the silver-haired Abel stuck his head in the door instead, and he was grinning.

"It seems you've successfully confused an android," Abel said, while waiting for Rissa to allow him to enter. She waved him in and motioned for him to sit in a chair, he pulled it over to sit in front of her.

"I didn't make him blow a circuit, did I?" Marissa asked, uncertainly.

"No, he's just got a few questions, but he's afraid of the answers. So I'm here to ask for him," Abel replied.

"I see. What does he want to know?" Rissa asked, feeling rather nervous.

"When are you leaving?"

Marissa had to think for a moment. "Today's Sunday right?" Abel nodded. "Today," she said, with a sigh.

Abel's goofy grin disappeared. "Oh... How much do you like Tres?"

"Enough to stay if he asked me to," Rissa replied, and thought about her father.

"Good answer," Abel said, his grin had returned. "Who's waiting for you at home?"

"My father," she answered, stopping herself before she added, "and butler."

"Okay, the rest he can find out for himself. I'll go tell him," Abel said, as he got up to leave.

Marissa nodded and laid back on the bed as he left. There was a knot in her stomach from her nervousness. She was still feeling rather tired, but the sound of her phone ringing made her wide awake. Rissa saw 'Dad' on the ID before she answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey kid-o, when's your flight home?" her father asked.

"I don't know," she asnwered honestly.

"You are coming home today, aren't you?" he asked, sounding worried.

"I don't know the answer to that either," she said, as Tres walked in. "Um, I'll call you back."

She heard her father's reply of, "Okay," and hung up without saying anything else. Marissa sat up and moved to allow Tres to sit next to her on the bed.

"Hi," Marissa said, her heart pounding now and it felt as though butterflies were fluttering around in her belly.

After he sat down, he said nothing, but slid an arm around her and pulled her close. Rissa felt his lips touch her hair.

"Abel told me you were leaving today, so this is goodbye," Tres said, his voice suddenly husky. Marissa realized that he did have emotions hiding in their after all.

Rissa wrapped her arms around his neck and clung to him. "I don't want to leave without you," she whispered.

"Then stay," was Tres's simple response.

Marissa grinned at him and picked up her cell phone. She quickly dialed her father's number and hit the 'call' key.

"Hello?" he asked, after picking up the other line.

"Hi Dad, I'm not coming home after all," Rissa said, watching Tres for his reaction. He smiled.

"Alright, but don't forget to visit some time," her father said.

"I won't, bye," she said, a little too eager to get off the phone.

"Bye."

She hung up and Tres wrapped his arms around her again. His lips found hers and he deepened the kiss. When they pulled apart, Rissa asked, "Can androids have children?"

Tres smirked. "Let's find out," he said, gently pushing her down on the bed.

Marissa couldn't argue with that! Somehow she knew that this was the beginning of a very long relationship.


End file.
